Magic Can Be Cruel
by bluebarnowl
Summary: Artemis Lorelei Lynette moved to Spooksville when her stepdad, George, got a promotion. After meeting Adam, Sally, and Watch, she and her loyal dog, Gypsy, get attacked by Black Eyed Kids. Then her mother is mysteriously killed in a car accident. Her life will never be the same again... Watch/OC for a reason! T for language.


**February 4th, 2013**

'_Dear Diary,_

_My mom, step-dad, and I are moving to some town out near a cliff. My step-dad says he has a new job there and we need to move as soon as possible if we (HE) wants to make it official. Ever since my mom married him (lord knows why) everything has always revolved around him. I had to say goodbye to all of my old friends, quit my volleyball team, glee club, environmental and wildlife committee, swim team, and even my place as the Student Body President. It's like my mom is too blind with her "love" for my step-dad, and not see that everything is changing so much and she didn't even ask ME if I agree to all of this!_

_Sometimes, I don't even think I can be heard by anyone. Like I can't speak loud enough, even when I really want to. And the worst part of it is, nothing ever happens in this town! From what I heard, it's just a boring, little speck of dirt on this planet. The brochure said that this place was cursed by a witch. Probably cursed to be forever boring. Right now, I'm in the car and we just entered the city limits._'

I put down my pen and stared out the window.

"Mom, I don't think this town is going to do me any good." I said.

"Honey, take some time to adjust to your surroundings. You can make new friends, have some fun." She said from the front seat.

"Listen to your mother, Lorelei." Said my step-dad.

"George, stop calling me by my middle name! My first name is Artemis! Use it!" I snapped.

"Artemis Lorelei Lynette! Don't talk to your father like that! When we get to our new home, I want you go look around the town and give me a detailed explanation on the history of this town within the first week we are here!" My mom turned slightly in her seat to look at me with the side of her face. My German Shepard, Gypsy, grunted as we saw a town coming up in the distance.

I grunted and looked out the window and saw the city sign: _Welcome To Springville!_ Wait...was it just me, or did one of the bushes below the sign look like a skull? I played with my ocean blue T-shirt and jean capris that I wore with my favorite white sneakers. My mother's sapphire, teardrop choker jewel necklace bounced with each bump. My sapphire blue eyes scanned the scenery.

"We're here." George said.

My blond, white striped hair in its fishtail braid swung to the side as we parked in the driveway of our new house. It was like a mansion, three stories, painted blue, a balcony at the top bedroom, and a large porch.

"Great, any chance this place is haunted?" I mumbled to myself. The place did have a weird sense of sadness to it. I grabbed my box of stuff and claimed the room with the balcony. I don't know why, but I've always wanted a balcony. I walked into the room and saw there was my bookcase and bed that were shipped here two days earlier. Gypsy growled as she cautiously entered my room.

"Down girl, there's nothing here." I said as I began to put my books in my bookcase.

"Marina!" My mom called. I walked over to the balcony to see her helping George move the family paintings into the living room.

"Mom, did you call for me?" I yelled down to her.

"No, sweetie!" She yelled back. I turned back to my bookcase, to see my books were back in their boxes. But my Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series books were mixed in with my Sherlock Holmes and R.L Stine books.

"Uh, okay. Maybe I'll put my books away later." I said. I sped walked out of my room and walked down two flights of stairs to the living room. As I was walking down the stairs, I moved to the side to let someone by, but when I did a double-take, there was no one there expect Gypsy, who was right behind me.

I ran the rest of the way and decided to go ahead and go into town. I got down my mountain bike and helmet and biked away from the creepy house with Gypsy on a leash jogging right beside me, keeping pace. The house was actually quite far from town. I rode into town and everyone was giving me odd looks. I realized I hadn't eaten all morning and decided to get some lunch. I found a local diner and chained my bike to a pole. I walked in and sat down in a free booth. Then a boy with black hair in an apron came and gave me a menu. But everything on the menu looked like it was cooked with the bones, feathers, claws, and feet in them.

"Umm, I'll just have an order of fries and a glass of water." I said.

"Good choice," He said as he took the menu and went into the kitchen.

I felt like some one was staring at me and I turned around to see two boys and one girl looking at me from 3 booths away. When they realized I caught them staring at me, they quickly went back to their conversation. After a few awkward minutes, my fries and water arrived. I was about to eat, but then the three kids who were staring at me came over and sat across from me.

"Can I help you?" I asked. The first one was a scrawny boy with a bunch of watches on both of his wrists, wearing a yellow shirt, brown jacket, and jeans with curly light brown hair and glasses, and green eyes. The second was a girl with long, chocolate-brown hair and eyes, wearing a denim jacket, a blue shirt, and long jeans. The third one was a handsome boy with dark brown hair and light brown eyes, lightly tanned skin, wearing a hoodie and jeans as well. Gypsy sniffed each one and gave me a whine, which meant "_They're cool_."

"She's obviously new," Said the girl.

"Well, duh, or else she would've gone home to eat." Said the boy with the watches.

"I'm not deaf, I'm sitting right here," I said. The boy on the end of the booth seat shrugged.

"That's Watch, this is Sally, and I'm Adam." He gestured.

"I'm Artemis, Artemis Lorelei Lynette." Gypsy whined, and I gave her a pat, "And this is Gypsy."

Adam gave her a pet, and she nuzzled his hand.

"Nice dog," He said.

"Thanks, she's a purebred. She is the perfect mix of every dog species known to man." I said.

"Seriously?" Sally asked.

"Yeah, she has the nose of a bloodhound, the brain of a French poodle, the bravery of a German Shepard, the loyalty of a Rottweiler, and the heart of golden retriever, and so on." I explained, "And each dog in her bloodline was a champion." Gypsy struck a pose, like a dog at a championship. I ate one of my fries and realized they were cold.

"So where are you from?" Watch asked.

"Jacksonville, Florida." I said.

"Cool, you see a lot of ghosts in Florida?" Sally asked. That question got me by surprise.

"Uh, no. We just make up those stories to get tourists." I said as I sipped my water. Just then my iPhone rang. I saw it was my mom. "I gotta take this."

They nodded their heads and I took a few steps from the table.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Honey. We need you to come home, one of your step-dad's clients is here, and they have a girl your age that you would like_."

"Alright."

"_Did you make any new friends_?"

"Sort of, I'll be home in few."

I hung up and turned around to see the booth was empty. Gypsy was staring out the door and I saw Adam, Sally, and Watch were walking away, and they left a note on the table. It said: _Call or visit us if you experience anything_. Then below that was an address and a phone number for each of them. I grabbed Gypsy's leash and paid for my lunch at the register. I walked outside, unlocked my bike, and rode home. The ride home felt like forever, especially when I got the feeling like someone or something was watching me. The sky was getting dark, but it shouldn't be, especially at 4:45 pm, which was what my watch said. Then I felt an eerie presence of dread and fear. Gypsy was pulling at my capris, pleading me to ride with her. Then she looked behind me and got into a defensive position. She was barking like there was no tomorrow.

"Gypsy! Ssh!" I tried hushing her.

Then behind me, a three people wearing long, black jeans and a black hoodie (with the hood up) appeared out of nowhere. Judging by the stature, they were boys at least 14-16 years-old. I couldn't see their eyes, like they didn't want me too. The obvious leader spoke up.

"Hi, miss." He said. His voice was smooth and mature. "We left our cellphones at home, can we come to your house and use yours?" He asked.

There was something about his disposition that was calm yet unsettling. Gypsy was growling and foaming at the mouth at the boys.

"Come on, lady. We don't have a gun." He reassured. I just stood there in fear, frozen. I could feel his patience running short.

He grabbed my handle bar and yelled "**We**** cannot come with you or in your house unless you say we can. Give me your answer**!" His voice became furious. Then I saw their eyes. They were a deep, soulless, black void. No pupil, no iris, no white parts. It was like they didn't even have eyes. I glanced in my bike's review mirror, and saw they did not have reflections. They were demons.

I finally found enough courage and made a cross gesture across my chest and said a verse from the Holy Bible: _"Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you._" All three of them hissed and in the blink of an eye, they vanished. My heart finally started beating again and my bike riding skills just kicked in. I rode so fast, Gypsy had trouble keeping up with me.

When we finally reached the house, I jumped off my bike, threw it in the garage, and ran into the house. I threw open the door and slammed it shut behind me. Everyone in the living room turned their heads towards me. In the living room, sitting across from my mom and George, was a 15 year-old girl with long curly brown hair, wearing a classy yet not too formal outfit, with black winter boots. Next to her stood an African-American man wearing a tuxedo and an expressionless face.

"Sweetheart, is something wrong?" My mother asked. I had no idea about how to comprehend what just happened to me.

"Uh, no, nothing is wrong." I said. She knew I was lying, but when she looked into my eyes, she knew to wait until later to talk about it.

"Anyway, Lorelei, this Ann Templeton, and her guardian." George said. She waved hello to me with a friendly smile on her face. The man's face remained unchanged.

"Ann, this is Lorelei Lynette." George said.

"I'm **Artemis **Lorelei Lynette. My first name is Artemis." I corrected.

"And this is Gypsy." I gestured to our dog.

"**Artemis**,why don't you take Miss Templeton to your room, while her guardian finishes business with us." My mother said. I gestured for Ann to follow me and we went up two flights of stairs with Gypsy at our heels.

"So, this is your first day in Spooksville?" Ann asked as we entered my room.

"Spooksville?" I gave her a quizzical look.

"Oh, a lot of people here, call this place Spooksville, because of the so-called 'Witch's Curse,'" She made air quotes.

"Oh, yeah it is." We both took a seat on my bed, which was very soft.

"So did you dye the white stripe in your hair?" She pointed to the white stripe on the left side of my hair.

"No, I was born with it. It runs in the family. Every generation, one girl or boy gets it. If it's a boy, the stripe is on their right side, but if it's a girl, it's on their left side. And every time it was a girl, they are always left-handed." I explained. She kept glancing down at my mother's choker sapphire teardrop necklace.

"Where did you get that?" She asked.

"It's been in my mother's family for generations. It was always given to the firstborn girl of the family." I explained.

Then after an hour of talking, my mother came knocking on the door.

"Hey honey, Ann's guardian says it is time for her to leave." We all said our goodbyes and after Ann left, I got into the shower. I only take 10 minute showers to conserve water. As I stepped out, I looked in the mirror, I saw a message. It read: _Get out!_.

"Okay, maybe I should give Watch a call." I said to myself. I got the phone number out of my capris and decided to call Watch, since he seemed like the most logical of the three.

"_Hello?_"

"Hey Watch, it's me, Artemis."

"_I figured you would call about this time._"

"Why is that?"

"_It's nearly 8:30,_"

"But my clock says it's-"

"_You just moved from Florida, all the way up here. Your clock probably hasn't been set to our time zone._"

"Oh right."

"_Anyway, meet us at the diner tomorrow for lunch. And we'll see if we can help you._"

"Okay, goodnight."

* * *

I woke up late the next morning, like I usually do. I took another shower to get rid of the sleep sweat that I have. (Yes, I sweat in my sleep). I got dressed in a light blue blouse with blue jean capris. I put on my white sneakers, brushed my teeth, put my hair back into a fishtail braid and my white stripe in its own French braid, and put on my mother's teardrop-shaped sapphire choker necklace. I knew it was nearly lunchtime and Watch told me to meet him at the diner. I got Gypsy some late breakfast, told my mom where I was going, and took my bike to town.

I became weary when I got to the point where I met the Black Eyed Children. Gypsy was a little reluctant to pass through, but after sniffing the area, she carefully jogged along side me. After getting into town and finding the diner again, I saw Adam, Sally, and Watch sitting in the same booth I was the other day. I walked in with Gypsy and sat down with them.

"Hey, glad to see you." Adam said.

"And I'm glad to be alive." I said. "Anyway, I did have a terrifying experience last night after I left."

"With what? Zombie, vampire, werewolf, ghost?" Sally guessed.

"None of those. It was Black Eyed Children." I glanced down at Gypsy who was shaking all over. I explained what happened when I was going home. Especially when he tried to make me give him my answer, and their black voided eyes.

"How did you escape them?" Watch asked.

"I didn't escape, I stood my ground. I don't run away from things easily. I made a cross over my chest, and said a verse from the book of James from the Holy Bible: _Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you._" I said.

"What are these Black Eyed Children creatures anyway?" Sally asked.

"Looking it up," Adam said who was on his phone. After a few minutes he was on Wikipedia.

"Ok, Wikipedia says: _Black-Eyed People (sometimes called Black Eyed Children or BEK) are young people, often children, with eyes that are solid black with no differentiation between sclera, pupil, or iris, and are occasionally reported to have blue or bluish tinted skin like that of a corpse. Those who report encounters with them often feel that the children were somehow supernatural and extremely dangerous though they could not explain why. _

_"The first well documented and discussed account came from a journalist named Brian Bethel in 1998. In his story, two children (not quite teens, but close) approached him as he sat in his car while parked in a parking lot. At first glance, the kids looked normal, wearing clothes that were in style and had a pale, olive colored skin. In acknowledging the two boys, Bethel was overcome with a peculiar fear that he describes in his account as: "I could feel fight-or-flight responses kicking in. Something, I knew instinctively, was not right, but I didn't know what it could be." _

_"Claiming that they were on their way to see a movie but had left their money at home, the two boys asked Bethel for a ride back to their house. When Bethel did not allow them into his car, the kids seemed to get annoyed and kept asking for a ride. As Bethel's fear and panic increased, he actually found himself wanting to open the door. However, when Bethel noticed their eyes, a primal fear took over and momentarily paralyzed him; the kids had coal-black eyes, completely lacking pupils and irises. _"_As if sensing that their chance for admittance into the car was coming to an end, the kids got more urgent and demanding. Bethel was finally able to push his fear momentarily aside and drove away. He mentioned some advice in his article after finishing his story, it said: Whatever you do, don't let them inside your house or car. In a haunted area, always carry a crucifix or bible with you._

Adam had a deadpanned voice when he read the article.

"So they are demons." I said. Then I noticed Watch was staring at my necklace.

"Can I see that?" He asked. I would never normally give my necklace to just anyone, but they seemed to be the only ones in town that **truly **knew what was going on. I unclipped my choker necklace and hesitantly handed it to him. He held it up to the light and looked like realization hit him like a falling anvil.

"Hey, Adam, doesn't this look just like-" Watch didn't need to complete his sentence before Adam took a teardrop shaped gem stone that looked just like the sapphire, but it was blood-red.

"Where did you get this?" Adam asked.

"My mother gave it to me last year on my 14th birthday. It's been in our family for generations." I said. They held the two jewels close together, they started to produce an eerie glow. As they got closer, the glow started to get brighter. I didn't know if it had anything to do with the two jewels, but I started getting light-headed.

"You okay, Artemis?" Sally asked, who obviously saw me rubbing my temples.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just haven't eaten yet." When the two jewels connected, a blast of energy erupted from them. The diner shook momentarily, and I blacked out.

* * *

I came back to reality when I felt someone shaking me.

"Artemis!" Watch was shaking me to get me to wake up. I opened my eyes and he calmed down.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Some weird energetic eruption burst out of the gems when they made contact and you fainted." He said.

"Umm, was that English?" I asked.

"The necklace exploded with energy and you blacked out," Sally simplified.

"Oh," I said.

Some people in the restaurant were staring at me with worried looks. Gypsy was growling at Adam, since she thought he was the one who caused me to faint. I sat up and felt my head. It was normal, now that the two jewels were apart from each other. That was when my iPhone rang. I looked at the screen and saw George's number. I got up from the table with Gypsy at my heels.

"What do you want George?"

"_Lorelei, it's your mother._"

"What about her?"

"_There's been a car accident._"

I ran out of the diner, not caring that I forgot my necklace. Gypsy ran after me as I found my way towards the hospital. I burst in through the doors and asked the woman at the desk for Mrs. Lynette.

"You must be her daughter," she said with a melancholy tone in her voice, "I'll see if she has enough time."

The woman got up from her desk and I followed her to one of the rooms.

"Enough time...?" I asked. She opened one of the doors and I saw my mother lying on a cot. She had a bunch of needles in her arm and an oxygen mask on her face.

Her face and arms were covered in stitches and bandages, a huge bloodstain over her heart.

"Mom?" She opened her eyes slightly.

"Honey, come here." She said. I knew that turning her head would cause her too much pain.

"I'll leave you two to say your goodbyes." The nurse said. I ran up to her side, my tears stung my eye as they threatened to climb down my cheeks.

"Sweetie, listen closely. This is the town where I grew up." She said.

"But you said-" She interrupted me.

"I had to lie, it was the only way to keep you safe. I've only got so much time left. You need to know about our family secrets, it has affected us for centuries. And the secrets of this town, there are so many things that you need to understand." She wheezed and coughed out her words.

"Mom, I don't understand." I said in a shaking voice.

"My time is coming." She coughed, the life in her eyes was fading. "Remember these words: _NUN aqua, et ignis ardebit_. _Memento mei,_ _et cor tuum_ _né revertatur_."

"What? What does that mean?" I asked, but my words came out as babbling.

Then her eyes closed, and the heart monitor went flat.

* * *

**Hey, please R&R and F&F. More to come!**


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